Passengers flee smoking plane on emergency slides after aborted takeoff in Denver
Footage of the incident shows the faulty aircraft surrounded by a cloud of smoke caused by a fire in the landing gear and passengers using the emergency exits to disembark.
Passenger video shows people using the evacuation slide to escape the smoke. Multiple people can be seen falling to the ground, some holding small children and luggage, after leaving the plane. Others were filmed running across the tarmac as emergency sirens wailed and staff alerted passengers to make way for approaching fire trucks.
The Denver fire department said the issue occurred while American Airlines Flight 3023, bound for Miami, was on the runway.
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Passengers on an American Airlines flight bound for Miami from Denver evacuated on the tarmac after the landing gear failed during takeoff on July 26, 2025, at Denver International Airport. Global News
The airline later reported that all 173 passengers and six crew members on board were safely evacuated from the plane.
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'American Airlines flight 3023 experienced a maintenance issue prior to takeoff at Denver International Airport (DEN). All customers and crew deplaned safely, and the aircraft was taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team,' American Airlines told the news outlet.
The airline said one person was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed in a statement that the Boeing 737 MAX 8 'reported a possible landing gear incident during departure' at around 2:45 p.m. local time and that passengers were transported back to the terminal by bus.
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Mark Tsurkis, a passenger aboard the plane who shared the footage, told CBS Miami that a loud noise right before takeoff alerted him to an issue.
'During the speed-up, when the plane almost took off, we heard a loud boom, and I said, 'That's not good.' It was definitely an unpleasant moment, but we were lucky that we didn't get up in the air yet, so we weren't airborne just yet, but I would imagine that it happened five to 10 seconds before we were airborne.'
Tsurkis said the pilots began to slow the plane down before it stopped after about a minute. Shortly after, passengers noticed smoke rising through the aircraft, prompting evacuation procedures.
He said he believed one of the plane's wheels exploded, damaging the aircraft's suspension, 'because when the plane was slowing down, we saw another wheel pass the airplane on the left side.'
'Some people started panicking, but you know, you got to start keeping calm in situations like this — panic never helps,' he told the outlet.
'Few people got a few bruises and scrapes from landing, but other than that, everything's OK,' he said. 'I'm feeling great.'
The airline later confirmed to CBS that there was a maintenance issue with a tire and that the aircraft was no longer in service and under inspection by American Airlines maintenance teams.
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Passengers flee smoking plane on emergency slides after aborted takeoff in Denver
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